The present invention relates to drumsticks and more particularly to a unique grip for drumsticks.
Drumsticks for playing percussion instruments, such as drums and cymbals, are well known. In the prior art, designs for drumsticks always include a cylindrical handle portion, a striking head portion at the first end of the drumstick and a butt end at the second end of the drumstick, which may also be used for striking. While over the years novel adaptations for the head and butt ends have been developed, the basic configuration of the cylindrical handle, and its inherent shortcomings, remains unchanged.
To fully appreciate the improvement of this invention over the prior art, one must understand how drumsticks are used. Proper positioning of the sticks is taught by either of two (2) techniques. The sticks must be grasped near the balance, also known as the fulcrum, of the stick, (1) either between the thumb and forefinger or (2) between the thumb, forefinger and middle finger. Either of these two techniques permits the sticks to bound freely by somewhat pivotal movement under the control of the fingers. This point of balance or fulcrum cannot be varied without destroying the control of the stick.
The problem with the traditional cylindrical drumstick is that it is smooth and musicians often find it difficult to hold the stick for long periods of time without squeezing tightly on the stick. So, to accommodate for the need to hold on to the stick as the muscles start to fatigue, percussionists frequently alter the manner in which the stick is played. As the playing continues, rather than just using the fingers to control the stick, the drummer begins to use the wrist, forearm, and even the neck and shoulder in an attempt to hold the stick and continue to play as the muscle is experiencing weariness. This results in many physical problems. It is very common for percussionists to develop blisters to the hand from the increased friction as the grip tightens. In addition, physicians and orthopedic therapists are reporting muscle spasms and carpal tunnel syndrome as being frequent maladies secondary to the playing of percussion instruments.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a painful disorder which is classified as one of the cumulative trauma disorders which make up over two-thirds of workplace injuries. Tasks with high repetitive wrist and finger movements and tasks that cause the wrist to be held at an angle or in an unnatural position generally cause carpal tunnel syndrome. Repetitive motion, forceful actions, rapid movement and stress are the four greatest contributors to carpal tunnel syndrome. And, all four contributors are present with traditional cylindrical drumsticks.
Yet even with this growing awareness of injury caused by playing drums with traditional cylindrical drumsticks, percussionists still lack a stick that has a grip which will reduce or alleviate pressure-causing injury.
The cylindrical nature of the traditional drumstick presents other problems as well. The bane of music teachers and music conductors everywhere is that drumsticks slip from the hands of the drummers and frequently fall, bounce, and roll across on the floor. Clearly, this is a highly undesirable characteristic of the traditional cylindrical drumstick.
An attempt to improve the hand-gripping surface of a traditional drumstick was set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,298 issued to Heiskell in 1984. This patent describes a drumstick having a cylindrical handle portion, which has been sanded to produce between 177 to 635 minute circumferentially extending scratches per inch, the scratches being from 0.001 to 0.002 inches in depth. The invention goes on to describe this as a relatively even surfaced handle portion. While this invention attempts to solve the problem of slippage, its application is undoubtedly marginal since in the fourteen years since the patent issued, the invention has not met with commercial success. In addition, the invention does not even attempt to address the injury-related problems such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
Another patent describes a bundle of sticks creating a stick type of drumstick as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,671 issued to Stromberg in 1985. This is an entirely different, non-traditional type of stick, actually comprised of a bundle of small sticks or dowels, which are constrained by a rubber or plastic band. The invention teaches a new percussive instrument having unique tonal qualities. While patent ""671 does describe a hexagonal cross-sectional shape formed, de facto, within the handle when the sticks are wrapped together, nevertheless, this stick-bundle form of a drumstick could never achieve the traditional sound and tonal qualities of a solid cylindrical piece of wood. Therefore, this invention, too, is extremely limited in its application and commercial success since the traditional cylindrical drumstick is still the preferred tonal quality of drummers worldwide.
None of the inventions and patents describes novel the invention as claimed in this disclosure. It is obvious that a clear need exists for a traditional drumstick having a means for gripping which not only facilitates the reduction of injury secondary to percussive arts, but also provides an efficient, simple and cost-effective means for improving the drumstick art. To this end, the teachings of the present invention embraces and finally addresses this long-standing and unmet need.
It is the object of this invention to provide a grip for a traditional drumstick which overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art. Further the disclosure will describe a method for making and using the grip for a traditional drumstick.
The apparatus and method of this invention have several features, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of this invention as expressed by the claims which follow, its more prominent features will now be discussed briefly. After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled xe2x80x9cDETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT,xe2x80x9d one will understand how the features of this invention provide its benefits and advantages.
More particularly, the invention provides an improved hand-gripping surface which may be utilized with any cylindrical drumstick regardless of its fabrication, whether wood, plastic, metal or any other substance or composition and regardless of whether there is a traditional tip, novel tip, brush, mallet, or other mean for striking at either the head end or the butt end. Additionally, several other objectives and advantages of the present invention are as discussed in the following paragraphs.
The first feature of the invention is that it relieves pressure on the wrist, forearm, bicep, shoulder and neck. When a drummer uses the drumstick of this invention, the wrist is turned down completely and remains parallel to the playing surface of the drum. This causes the blow from the stroke to be equally distributed throughout the whole wrist. The invention avoids awkward wrist angles and therefore reduces pressure on the tissues within the carpal tunnel and adjacent thereto.
The second feature of the invention is that it teaches student drummers proper technique. The original grip of this invention, particularly the six-sided grip (Hexagrip(trademark)) and the eight-sided grip (Octagrip(trademark)) is designed so that the placement of the fingers is exactly correct. With this uniquely constructed grip, the longitudinal facets upon the handle surface of a drumstick fit perfectly in the grooves of the index finger and thumb. The stick is now easily and comfortably held correctly.
The third feature of the invention is that it improves an experienced drummer""s technique. Because the fingers are correctly placed, drummers with good techniques will improve dramatically. Drummers with poor techniques will now be forced to hold the stick correctly and automatically advance their playing skills. Even professionals, who have eroded techniques due to the inferior nature of traditional cylindrical drumsticks, will play better when using this invention. Since the art of drumming is largely in the fingers and the wrist, having good control and placement such as that experienced from the novel grip of this invention provides excellent technique for all drummers.
A fourth feature of this novel invention is that even with long playing, no blisters develop. Because the faceted grip is designed to fit between the grooves of the fingers and the hand, there is less spinning of the stick. This means less friction for the player and that equals fewer blisters during long-playing sessions.
The fifth feature of this novel invention is that the grip minimizes the dropping of the stick. Now that this drumstick is held correctly and is ultimately easier to hold, the drummer has more control that in turn avoids dropping the stick.
The sixth feature of the invention is that the cylindrical surface is replaced with a cylindrical surface having a grip, which is formed from a plurality of longitudinal facets. This will minimize the rolling as in a traditional cylindrical stick. The stick with the novel grip will now stay in place.
The seventh feature of the invention is an increase in the stamina for the percussion player utilizing the invention. Fatigue is common for a drummer utilizing traditional sticks. This is because the drummer tends to squeeze harder and harder as he or she plays. However, with the grip in place, fatigue in the forearm is virtually eliminated. The facets, which provide a plurality of straight edges, fit naturally into the grooves of the hand and fingers. This configuration of facets upon the cylindrical drumstick creates the perfect fulcrum without having to bear down or squeeze the drumstick as required with a traditional cylindrical stick. With less stress on the muscles, the forearm, bicep, back, neck and shoulder, drummers can relax during playing sessions and avoid tightening or spasm of the muscle. The drummer can play longer sets with improved stamina.
The eighth feature of the invention is that various embodiments permit flexibility to fit all players. With every hand being unique in size and strength, it is necessary to have different-sided shapes to fit everyone""s hands. Therefore the invention can be practiced with from one to twenty-four facets. It is anticipated that the embodiments having eight or more facets will be better for children and adult players with small hands. While the embodiments having eight or fewer facets will be better for adults with larger hands. The unique grip, available with a varied number of facets will assure that there will be a stick suitable for any person.
The ninth feature of the invention is the advantageous placement for rim shots when utilizing the invention. The invention allows the player to hold the stick flatly and firmly against the head so that the identical sound produced by such a rim shot is reproducible each time the stick is struck. This is a great advantage over traditional round sticks wherein the sound differs and varies with each rim shot.
Furthermore, the disclosure which is the subject of this invention, will describe in detail how the device is made to enable one skilled in the art to practice the invention.
In its preferred form the drumstick grip of the invention is a cylindrical wood stick into which has been lathed one or a plurality of facets in the longitudinal plane. In a second embodiment, the grip is injection molded of rubber or other suitable material, the grip having one or a plurality of facets about the exterior surface in the longitudinal plane and having an axial bore extending through the interior length of the grip. The grip may be open at either one or both ends. The grip of the second embodiment is received onto the traditional cylindrical handle of any drumstick. In another less favored embodiment, the surface of the grip may be knurled.